A small but critical federal grant is finally poised to pay for repairs to the corroded steel beams holding up the plaza outside the Old State House, according to Revolutionary Spaces, the civic group that stewards the landmark. If all goes according to plan, work could start this fall and wrap by year’s end, easing a long-standing safety worry at one of the busiest stops on the Freedom Trail. The fix will temporarily alter the look of the plaza and fire lane while crews shore up the load-bearing structure under the pavement, as per Revolutionary Spaces.
Federal funds finally arrive
In a press release, Revolutionary Spaces said it secured $286,000 through the Save America’s Treasures grant program to stabilize the Old State House’s sub-basement and foundation elements. The money appears in the Fiscal Year 2026 federal appropriations and was pushed on Capitol Hill by U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey. The award is listed on Senator Markey’s site as part of more than $30 million in Congressionally Directed Spending for Massachusetts.
Revolutionary Spaces says the funds will go toward reinforcing the mechanical room and critical load-bearing components that support the plaza above, a behind-the-scenes fix that most visitors will never see but absolutely depend on.
Historic cause and past fixes
The Old State House, which dates to 1713 and sits at the center of Boston’s Freedom Trail, is one of the city’s most photographed buildings, according to the National Park Service. But the real trouble is underneath. As reported by Axios, steel beams installed when the State Street MBTA station was built in 1903 were not properly waterproofed and slowly rusted out.
The situation turned serious in 2013 when a slab of concrete fell from the mechanical room ceiling, which prompted an engineering review. That review, conducted by firm SGH, found extensive corrosion from water infiltration. Temporary shoring was installed to keep the plaza open while Revolutionary Spaces and public officials hunted for a permanent solution.
What's next
Nat Sheidley, president and CEO of Revolutionary Spaces, told Axios, "We determined that we could not be confident that it could support the load of a vehicle passing over it at that time." Not exactly what you want to hear about the ground under a major historic site.
With the $286,000 award secured, Revolutionary Spaces says it can now advertise contracts, with construction potentially breaking ground as early as this fall and aiming to finish by the end of the year. The organization will keep chasing additional public and private funding even as the stabilization work moves forward.
Sheidley also told Axios that once the structure is stabilized, it will open the door to proposing a later project to make the museum wheelchair accessible, something he described as a complicated challenge for a National Historic Landmark.
Preservation experts caution that any intervention on 300-year-old fabric has to be carefully staged and coordinated with multiple agencies. Crews will need to protect historic materials while threading work around subway tunnels and utility lines under State Street. Freedom Trail visitors can expect temporary barriers and posted notices when construction ramps up later this year. Officials say they will share more specific timing and access details as contracts are awarded.
